Author Archives: Winifred Whitfield

About Winifred Whitfield

I'm an oil painter and a digital painter. Portrait painting is my speciality. I love painting still lifes as well. I'm also a professional portrait photographer.

Golden Sunflowers

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Golden Sunflowers – 9×12 Oil Painting on Gessoed Board

Golden Sunflowers, Oil Painting by Winifred

I will never get enough of painting sunflowers and painting them is such a great way to test new product performance – in this case texture. I have begun to experiment with oil paint mediums – making my own. I add these products to oil paint to change the physical characteristics and the feel of the paint on the canvas or board. I created the rich thick translucent impasto product, to my paint to create the impasto sunflowers. Impasto can be created with paint only but these mediums extend the paint and vary it in other ways which I prefer. There are many minerals and mix in so many potential combinations to create different results. I can put my products into an empty tube, label it and have it available whenever I want to use it. I try to both paint, study and experiment everyday. Loving it!
 

 try to both paint, study and experiment everyday.

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Shallot-Grapes-Small Onion

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“Shallot, Grapes, Small Onion” Three 4×6 oil painting (triptych) on board

Oil Painting Triptych by Winifred

Greetings!

I have a frame – not this frame, but a real frame which required three 4×6 paintings. I had never painted that small before. I started with 8×10’s and went larger. I wouldn’t have been able to take myself seriously in the beginning if I created such small paintings. Now I feel free to do whatever I need to do. I created these because of the frame I have and I like them. The small onion was painted first, the shallot next and finally more grapes – this time with a stem. Simple little paintings, each of which can stand on it’s on but are strong together.

I had to make an emergency food run the other night when I realized I was out of almonds!! No matter how much food is in the refrigerator, if I have no almonds, I am out of food!! I had already painted the small onion and wanted some other more interesting fruit or veggie with a stem or leaf on it.

I began to browse  the fruit and veggie area and saw shallot (top). It had so much delicate flaking skin and stem.  I thought it would make an interesting painting. I knew I would have to be very careful to get it home intact. I enjoyed painting the shallot, attempting to capture it’s unusual coloring and delicate outer skins.

I took home grapes as well. I love to paint grapes. This time the painting is from real grapes. There is a certain way to paint grapes if they are to be accurate. Painting grapes is similar to painting the iris of the eye. There is a highlight, but also a reflection opposite the highlight, as with the eye, because most grapes are translucent. I am able to use artificial grapes if necessary because I understand how they reflect light, and can simply paint it correctly. It was very nice, however, to have real grapes in order to actually see the light at work and experience and better paint the grapes translucency – particularly the grapes closest to the light.

When dry, I will frame the 3 together. I have considered replacing the lone onion with something a bit more complex but together I think they are fine. Should I leave it or replace it? Not sure yet. Please enjoy. Winifred

 

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Leading the Way

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Leading the Way – 9×12 Oil on Gessoed Canvas Board

“Leading the Way” 9×12 Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

I don’t often paint street scenes, but I thoroughly enjoyed painting this one.  I enjoy the interaction of the two. I love the expressions, the vintage car, the old bus and virtually empty street on this bright sunny day.  I hope to paint more.

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Yellow Flowers

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Yellow Flowers – 9×12 Oil on Gessoed Board

Yellow Flowers with Vine Oil Painting by Winifred

I had a different painting in mind when I started – the sketch below makes that pretty clear.  The change was even more radical than is apparent.  I set up a vase of flowers which had two yellow, three red and three deep purple flowers in it! 

After I completed my sketch, I ruffed in the shadows, and  began extending the energetic brushstrokes to the edges.  I decided it looked like foliage and kept it.

I added highlights and shadows using dancing brushstrokes to the lower background and foreground.  It started to come together. Some how, I didn’t want all the colors in the vase.  I decided on yellow flowers only.  I added my yellow flower  along with a bit of hue changes in the same  brushstroke style I’d been using throughout.  I then began to focus these strokes to giving abstract definition of flower structure.

I liked the painting at this point and could have left it but I wanted a greater sense of dimension which I would only get by affecting the hues and tones of shadows and highlights.  Below, I have added purple, and muted dark blue glazes to various areas along with impasto to pop the highlights and a twining vine. With that, I could call it good.  I will know after I look at it over time.  I can always make some changes if necessary. Hope you enjoy! Winifred

 

 

Yellow Flowers Oil Painting by Winifred

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Portrait of Girl in Sweater

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9×12 Oil Painting “Portrait of Girl in Sweater”

Initial sketch and blocking in values.

Selecting colors and developing background.

Adding detains to – hair, background and hands

 

For your convenience, below is final image, with final adjustments to facial features and other details /aspects of the painting –  the hardest part – even altering  the angle of the  back of the chair.  I’ve made an attempt to paint this person before but did not find it satisfactory.  It was too small to manage facial features properly. Hope you enjoy. W

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Sunflower Bouquet

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Sunflowers in Bouquet – 9×12 Oil on Gessoed Board

Sunflowers in Bouquet – Oil Painting by Winifred

You can see the beginning of this process  below – the still life set up next to my easel. The painting developed and ultimately I had it trimmed with a saw, narrower than the nearly square beginning.

The Beginning – still life set up in shadow box.

Loose first transparent layer.

Deepening shadows and color.

Almost final.

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Bunch of Grapes

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Bunch of Grapes – 8×6 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel 

I can almost taste them.  One bunch was not enough – referring to last weeks post of “grapes in a silver gravy bowl”.  I had this vision and it turned out pretty much accordingly.  Love it when that happens. There is no painting sequence for this painting – I just did it. In the next post there will be a long sequence for the painting’s development.  I hope you like this one.

Oil Painting – Bunch of Grapes – 8×6 Canvas Board – by Winifred

 

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Grapes in Gravy Bowl

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Grapes in Gravy Bowl  – 8×8 Oil Painting on Gessoed Panel

Oil painting – grapes in silver gravy bowl by Winifred

Below is the initial sketch and transparent color layer. It is so loose, luminous and rich in color.

Grapes Tonal Sketch

 

Substantial development of forms and detail have occurred below prior to adding highlights and other touches of color.

Grapes form development

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Flowers

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Jeweled Tone Bouquet – 8×8 Oil Painting on Gessoed Board

Jeweled Tone Bouquet – Oil Painting by Winifred

I’m enjoying kicking up the color and texture. 8×10 Oil on Canvas Board

The Hydrangea flower head below is one of my best hydrangea flower heads.  I find abstracting the flower petals challenging.  I wiped my board clean of oil on this one – once again.  In the end, I felt it had too many “tree” looking characteristics – the shape of my vase.  I could have repainted the vase, but I’ll just paint it again!

Blue Hydrangea Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

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Ménage à Trois – YAMS!

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10×8 Oil Painting on Canvas Board

Ménage à Trois – YAMS! Oil Painting by Winifred

Early in June, I set up and photographed many still lifes,  I would later reference to paint.  I even photographed three large yams on a rich velvet background. Since that time, whenever I’ve scrolled through that collection of images, I would stop at the yams thinking “they looked so very weird”!  I thought I would never paint “that one”.  Wrong again.  I came to like the fact that the photo was  so unusual, so organic with the rich complementary colors and interesting shapes. It brings a smile. So, here it is!!

Below,  I  initially created an oil sketch and a light grid to be sure to get accurate placement, referencing the photo. I then chose my background color and painted loosely around the yam sketch.

Oil sketch with grid visible.

Below, I create my mid-tones, highlights and shadows.

Blocking in values as underpainting.

As usual, I like the  brushstroke looseness  of the stage above.

By the way, I wiped down and cleaned off my Hydrangea oil sketches from last week.  I will paint it  pretty soon and of course show it to you when I do. Til then, Winifred Whitfield

 

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